Chinatown is considered as an ethnic enclave of Chinese people. Many different cities in many countries across the globe have their very own Chinatown. Chinatown is known to be home to some of the best Asian food in the world. Along with delicious restaurants, Chinatown also has exciting shops, family-friendly activities and a handful of historical sites. One of such, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a city in eastern United States. Chinatown is considered a home to many people, and recently, this home has been threatened.
The Philadelphia 76ers is a team a part of the National Basketball Association. With much support from the state of Pennsylvania, they had hoped to expand themselves. This led towards their desire to create another stadium for their games. But this stadium was to be built right in Chinatown. Thus getting rid of Chinatown as a whole. This would have a major impact on the Chinese community by depriving them of their homes and culture.
In response to this, on Saturday June 10, 2023, there were protests in Chinatown. The participants in this event that would last four hours, ranged in age from infants to 96. The crowd was estimated to be 3,000 by organizers, and 500 to 700 by police. There appeared to be sufficiently diverse to qualify as a demographic cross section of Philadelphia. This was a very peaceful protest, but had a much deeper meaning. People were willing to stand up for their home and culture.
This is a social justice problem through the 76ers organization planning towards removing such a significant cultural enclave. There are many possibilities that could occur, whether the new stadium is built or not. This leaves us with the question of- in what ways should or should not a famous rich organization have precedence over smaller communities when it comes to disputing the usage of certain land? Who’s views are more important?
Ayan Kumar's Blog 